Up Next
Brandon Tatum Reveals Why Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens Turned Against Israel
42:25
Candace Owens Investigates Charlie Kirk Assassination After Erika Kirk's Powerful Forgiveness Speech and Kash Patel Statement
1:00:21
George Galloway Examines Israeli Motive in Charlie Kirk Assassination Amid Growing Conservative Shift on Israel
38:00
Josh Hammer Speaks Out After Murder of Friend Charlie Kirk and Candace Owens' Accusations
Josh Hammer breaks his silence on the murder of his friend Charlie Kirk and addresses the conspiracy theories that emerged immediately after. Hammer reveals exclusive details about Kirk's final messages defending Israel, confronts Candace Owens' accusations of complicity, and sets the record straight about Kirk's faith-based support for the Jewish people. The Orthodox Jewish lawyer shares screenshots from a private WhatsApp group to clear his name after being accused of involvement in his friend's death. Plus, filmmaker Aaron Zimmerman discusses her new documentary on how the New Testament was formed, and photographer Chelsea Nelson celebrates a major First Amendment victory after a six-year legal battle.
Josh Hammer Confronts Conspiracy Theories After Charlie Kirk's Murder
In a deeply emotional interview, Josh Hammer opens up about the horrific murder of his close friend Charlie Kirk and the disturbing conspiracy theories that emerged before Kirk's blood had dried. Hammer, an Orthodox Jewish lawyer, found himself thrust into a controversy he never wanted when debates about Kirk's legacy began circulating immediately after his death.
"It's the first time in my entire life I've had a friend murdered, let alone a friend murdered in this particular fashion," Hammer explains. "What makes it particularly unconscionable is the way that terrible human beings have tried to seize on this moment to glom on to something that isn't there, a unicorn, and try to further their agenda."
Defending Charlie Kirk's Legacy and Faith
The debate centered primarily on Kirk's relationship with Jewish people and Israel, which Hammer finds disturbing given the timing. "The debate over Charlie Kirk's legacy started while his blood was still drying," he states. Hammer emphasizes that he knows firsthand about Kirk's support for Jewish people and Israel because he lived it out with him daily.
The controversy escalated when Candace Owens obtained a screenshot from a small WhatsApp chat that included Hammer and Kirk. The screenshot showed Kirk upset about a Jewish donor withholding a $2 million donation. Owens used this to claim that Hammer was lying about Kirk's pro-Israel stance until his final moments.
Setting the Record Straight with Final Messages
Hammer reveals crucial context that Owens omitted: just two hours after the screenshot in question, Kirk organized a Zoom call with Hammer and others specifically to get the best messaging advice for discussing Jewish-Christian relations and Israel on college campuses. This call took place the night before Kirk was killed.
"Charlie organized this Zoom call for the express purpose of trying to make sure that he had all the best answers, the best messaging advice for how to speak about Jewish Christian relations and the Israel question on college campuses," Hammer clarifies. Kirk's final messages in the WhatsApp chat were thanking the group for this very Zoom call about bolstering his pro-Israel messaging.
Accusations of Complicity and Legal Action
The situation took an even darker turn when Owens began accusing Hammer of complicity in Kirk's murder during the Jewish holiday of Sukkot when Hammer was offline. This accusation became part of what Hammer describes as Owens' ongoing crusade to make the tragedy about Jewish people.
"I'm being accused of murdering my friend," Hammer states bluntly. "I'm being accused of having some foreknowledge or complicity. I have to clear my name." This led him to reluctantly release Kirk's final messages, something he genuinely did not want to do. Hammer confirms he is consulting with lawyers about potentially bringing legal action.
Charlie Kirk's Deep Christian Faith and the Jewish People
Hammer provides insight into why Kirk would never turn against Israel or the Jewish people. Kirk's faith was deeply rooted in a theological understanding that connected him to Jewish tradition. "Charlie Kirk kept his version of the Jewish Sabbath," Hammer reveals. "He literally turned his phone off for 25 hours from Friday night to Saturday night. He has a whole forthcoming book on the Sabbath, on honoring the Sabbath."
Kirk frequently quoted from Genesis and Psalms as much as the New Testament. His Christianity was modeled after the American founding fathers like George Washington, John Adams, and Alexander Hamilton, men who were deeply inspired by the story of the Israelites in the Hebrew Bible.
Kirk's Public Stand Against Anti-Semitism
Even at the final Turning Point USA Student National Summit in July, Kirk sat on stage with Hammer and repeatedly warned attendees: "Do not succumb to the mind virus. Do not let your brain rot get to the point where you were just hating on the Jews." This message remained consistent until the day he died.
While Kirk was frustrated that the Gaza war was taking a long time to finish and would have been thrilled to see President Trump's ceasefire hostage deal, he was not becoming an ultra-conspiracy theorist like Tucker Carlson or Candace Owens, according to Hammer.
Impact on Hammer's Life and Family
The accusations and resulting attention from anti-Semites and neo-Nazis have taken a toll. As a husband and father living in Florida, Hammer's primary concern is his family's safety. Florida law enforcement is aware of the situation and monitoring it. However, Hammer makes clear that these attacks will not silence him.
"It will not shut me up. This sort of stuff will never shut me up. They're trying to get me to stop talking and trying to get me to confess or concede that Charlie Kirk was actually turning on Israel. Whatever they think they want me to do, I'm not going to do it."
How the New Testament Was Formed: A New Documentary
In a separate segment, filmmaker Aaron Zimmerman discusses her new documentary "Oracles of God: The Story of the New Testament," which explores how the Bible came to be. The timing of the film's release coincides with an unprecedented spiritual awakening in America, particularly among young people.
Zimmerman began working on the project in 2017 while living in Israel. The production faced numerous delays, including COVID-19 shutdowns and the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack that occurred just two days before they were scheduled to begin filming in Israel. "I really said, 'Okay, God, what are you doing?' Because you had me here all summer, you had us get all the way up to filming and then why?" she recalls.
A Golden Age of Bible Publishing
The timing proved providential. The Wall Street Journal declared this "a golden age of Bible publishing." Bible sales were up 22% last year, and this year they've already sold a million more physical Bibles than at the same point last year. This doesn't even account for online sales and digital versions.
"God had his plan back in 2017. He knew everything that was going to happen. And he knew that we were going to land right at this point," Zimmerman reflects. "His timing is better than ours."
From Oral Tradition to Written Word
The documentary explores how stories about Jesus transitioned from oral tradition to written text. In the first 20 to 30 years after Jesus, everything was communicated by word of mouth. People valued hearing stories directly from apostles more than reading written accounts.
"How did we go from apostles through all through Jesus ministry saying, 'I'm telling you, but you still don't understand' right up to the cross when they left, to all these men saying, 'This is my life's mission now. I have to write this down'?" Zimmerman asks.
The shift occurred when apostles began dying off and persecution increased. King Herod was driving Jews and Christians out of Judea. Without firsthand accounts, the urgency to write everything down became critical.
The Gift of the Church Fathers
One of the most valuable resources for understanding this era comes from the church fathers—Christian leaders who were one or two generations removed from the apostles. Some were direct students of the Apostle John, hearing everything firsthand.
Zimmerman shares that Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written in the AD 60s, while John wrote his gospel 30 years later in the 90s. The documentary explores why John felt compelled to write another account after reading the first three. "It was a little passive aggressive almost," Zimmerman laughs. "Ah, okay, they did okay, but I need to add some things."
"Oracles of God: The Story of the New Testament" hits theaters November 2nd, 3rd, and 5th as a Fathom event.
Christian Photographer Wins Six-Year Religious Liberty Battle
Chelsea Nelson, a Christian photographer from Louisville, celebrates a major First Amendment victory after a six-year legal battle. Nelson filed a lawsuit in 2019 against Louisville Jefferson County over an ordinance she feared would force her to violate her religious beliefs in her business.
As a young mother looking for flexible work, Nelson wanted to ensure she could operate her photography business consistently with her Christian faith. "I'm a Christian so that impacts every aspect of my life. Not just on Sunday morning when I'm at church," she explains.
Facing $10,000 Fines for Religious Expression
Nelson discovered a Louisville ordinance that concerned her deeply. She feared facing $10,000 fines if she openly stated she would only photograph marriages between a man and a woman for a lifetime. Rather than wait for a direct threat, she proactively sought clarification about what she could put on her website.
"This is exactly what I would like to put on my website so everyone knows where I stand and what I believe. Can I do that?" she asked. The response was no—she couldn't put her beliefs on her website or even discuss them with clients in private meetings at coffee shops.
Government Cannot Compel Speech
Brian Nihart, Nelson's attorney, explains the legal foundation of the case: "The fundamental premise of Chelsea's lawsuit is that the government can't force Americans to say something they don't believe."
Louisville's law had two problematic features. First, it compelled Nelson to create photographs and blogs celebrating views of marriage that contradicted her faith. Second, it prohibited her from explaining her Christian beliefs about marriage on her own website. The city claimed both declining certain projects and explaining her beliefs publicly would violate its law.
Supreme Court Precedent Secures Victory
The case parallels the 2023 Supreme Court decision in 303 Creative v. Elenis, which addressed similar laws across the country compelling artists to create artwork violating their religious beliefs. The Supreme Court ruled such laws, when applied to speech, violate the First Amendment. Judge Beaton followed this binding precedent in ruling for Nelson.
Message to Christians Facing Similar Battles
After six years of fighting, Nelson offers encouragement to others who may find themselves in similar situations: "Start with daily faithfulness in your life, in your family. Standing up in a broader context with news headlines or whatever, that all starts with being faithful to the Lord and your family, how you treat your spouse, how you're being faithful in parenting your children."
She emphasizes having an eternal mindset: "Is the Lord going to say, 'Well done' when you see him face to face, are you going to be feeling ashamed or regretful at the end of your life for not standing up for your faith? I would say do that no matter what the cultural winds are at the time and surround yourself with strong believers who are going to hold you accountable to that."
When asked if she would continue fighting if there's an appeal, Nelson's response is immediate and certain: "Absolutely. Without a doubt. This is a ride-or-die situation for me. I want to honor the Lord in this area. I want to protect free speech for everyone."
Video Transcript
On today's news makers, how the Bible
was formed, a Christian victory and
debate over Charlie Kirk. That and more
coming up.
[Music]
Welcome to Newsmakers, a show where we
go behind the headlines each and every
week to bring you interviews with
pastors, entertainers, politicians, and
other notable news figures. First on
today's show, we are diving into a
writer's story. His name is Josh Hammer.
He is here to open up about the murder
of his friend Charlie Kirk. Conspiracy
theories, anti-semitism, and more. Let's
welcome him here to Newsmakers.
Obviously, it has been a difficult month
after the loss of Charlie Kirk. How have
you been processing the loss of such a
close friend?
>> Well, Billy, it's uh it's horrific. I
mean, it's horrific. It's
unconscionable. all means the first time
in my entire life I've had a friend
murdered, let alone a friend murdered in
in this particular fashion. And what
makes it particularly unconscionable is
the way that just terrible, terrible
human beings, some of them have tried to
seize on this moment to glom on to
something that isn't there, a unicorn,
and try to further their punish agenda.
That has been, I think, the most
disturbing aspect, frankly, of all. you
found yourself in a position where you
didn't want to be in this position, but
you were posting screenshots from a
conversation that Charlie was in that
you were also in. Again, you didn't want
to do that, but I assume you felt
compelled. What drove that decision?
Well, I didn't want to do this. I mean,
very shortly after Charlie was killed,
you had a lot of people I I mean, the
debate over Charlie Kirk's legacy,
Billy, started while his blood was b was
still drying up. I mean I mean the whole
thing started so quickly and obnoxiously
and frankly sickeningly quickly this
debate over Charlie Ker's legacy and
that debate from what I could tell
centered mostly on his relationship with
with the Jewish people and with Israel
which is kind of disturbing in of itself
that this is immediately where the
conversation went. I mean Charlie Kirk,
yeah, he was very very supportive of
making friendships and alliances with
the Jewish people. I know that because
that's literally me. Like I actually
live this out on a day-to-day basis. He
was vocally supportive of of Israel,
especially Israel's various wars over
radical fanatical Islamists. But he was
outspoken on a lot of issues. Among the
things that that has happened is we all
saw very recently Candace Owens acquired
a a screenshot from this small WhatsApp
chat that that I was in with Charlie
Kirk. It was there were seven or eight
people. I was one of them. And Candace
Owens seized on this totally out of
context screenshot of Charlie Kirk being
very upset that a Jewish donor was
withholding his $2 million donation. And
she used this as an attempt to say, "Oh,
Josh Hammer's lying that Charlie Kirk
remained pro-Israel until his his final
moments."
>> Yeah. But she's also holding us that 2
hours after this screenshot, if you look
at the timestamps, 2 hours after that, I
and a few others were in a small Zoom
chat, a small Zoom call with Charlie
Kirk the night before he was killed that
Charlie organized. Charlie organized
this Zoom call for the express purpose
of trying to make sure that he had all
the best answers, the best messaging
advice for how to speak about Jewish
Christian relations and the Israel
question on college campuses. So Kenneth
Owens's whole timeline is off and then
even after that earlier this week when I
was offline for the Jewish holiday of
Sukkot I she apparently started accusing
me of complicity of complicity in
Charlie Kirk's murder and this is part
of her ongoing crusade to somehow make
this about the Jewish people. So Candace
accused me of complicity there and I've
been dealing with with horrific
anti-semmites and neo-Nazis as you can
imagine because crawling
>> that was going to be my question. How is
this impacting your life now that you
are in the middle of of this? Obviously,
>> I'm certainly speaking with lawyers. I
because I think I I'm I'm a lawyer,
Billy, as you may or may not recall
myself. So,
>> we'll do a little more digging into that
and see whether or not I ultimately
decide to bring a case there.
>> Look, above all, what I'm most concerned
with, of course, as a as a husband, a
father is is my family. You know,
thankfully I I live I live in Florida
and you know, Florida law enforcement is
aware of all this and and and and they
are just generally amazing. But it's it
will it will not shut me up, Billy. It
will absolutely not shut me up. I mean,
this sort of stuff will never ever shut
me up. They're trying to get me to just
to stop talking and they're trying to
get me to to to confess or concede that
Charlie Kirk was actually quote unquote
turning on Israel. Whatever they they
think they whatever they think they want
me to do, I'm not going to do it. So
that that is ultimately what led me to
to release against my will. Like I
genuinely did not want to do this
because I'm being accused of murdering
my friend. Okay? I'm being accused of of
having some fornowledge or complicity or
whatever this mental patient is is at
the trying to wink wink nudge nudge
accuse me doing and I have to clear my
name. And among the ways of clear my
name was showing that Charlie Kirk's
literal final messages in this WhatsApp
chat were thanking us for the Zoom call
that he organized to kind of bolster his
pro-Israel messaging on that campus
tour.
>> Well, and let and let me make a point
here too. You are Jewish. You were on
this message, right? You saw these
messages. You were, I'm assuming, not
offended. I mean, you were in this, you
understood the context of these messages
as you were engaging with them and with
him. The the question, and I know it's
going to sound like a dumb question
because I know how you're going to
answer it. Was Charlie turning on
Israel? That's the question, right? So,
I want to throw that to you and just
give you the final word on that. Charlie
was not turning on Israel for a very
simple reason, which is that he was a
man of faith and his theology was coming
from a very spiritually, theologically
sound place when it came to the Jewish
people. Charlie Kirk Billy kept his
version of the Jewish Sabbath. I mean,
he didn't observe all the various 39
levels of prohibited labor that I and
other Orthodox Jews observe, but he
literally turned his phone off for 25
hours from Friday night to Saturday
night. He has a whole forthcoming book
on the Sabbath, on honoring the Sabbath.
There Charlie Kirk was someone if you if
you look at his social media feed, he
was just as fond of quoting the book of
Genesis or the book of Psalms as he was
the New Testament. He was his
Christianity was very much the
Christianity of the American founding.
It was the Christianity of George
Washington, John Adams, Alexander
Hamilton, John J. men who were deeply
deeply inspired by the story of the
Israelites in the Hebrew Bible. And that
Charlie would never ever turn on the
Jewish people or on Israel for that
reason and that reason alone. Now, was
he frustrated that the war in Gaza was
was taking a very long time to finish?
For sure. Would he have been happy had
he lived to see this this new ceasefire
hostage deal that President Trump has
orchestrated? He would be thrilled,
absolutely thrilled to see that there.
Was he suddenly about to become a a a
Tucker Carlson or or Candace Owens like
ultra conspiracy theorist? No. On the
contrary, even his final months,
including at the final Turning Point USA
conference that I did with him on stage
at the Student National Summit in July,
he said over and over and over again,
"Do not succumb to the mind virus. Do
not let your brain rot get to the point
where you were just hating on the Jews.
He said that on stage with me sitting
two feet away from there. He kept that
thought in mind until the very day he
died.
>> Josh Hammer, I appreciate you joining
me. I know this is not easy to talk
about, but I appreciate you doing so and
being with us today.
>> My pleasure. Thank you.
>> Please continue to pray for those
mourning Charlie Kirk and for truth and
grace to prevail. We'll be right back in
just a moment with more news makers.
[Music]
Welcome back to Newsmakers. Next up,
Aaron Zimmerman, a director with CBN
Films, joins us to talk about her new
movie, Oracles of God: The Story of the
New Testament. It's a film all about how
the Bible came to be. Let's welcome
Aaron here to the show.
So there's a lot happening right now in
America and this film is coming at an
incredible time. You have college
students waking up, finding faith. You
have I mean it's amazing watching the
moves of God that are happening around
not just the country but around the
world. And you started working on this
film years ago and here we are. What do
you make of the timing of this movie?
>> You know, I I've asked God so many times
during this process why. I really did
start it in 2017 when I was living in
Israel. We started, you know, just
shooting some beautiful scenic footage
while I was there and came back in 20
late 2019 and said, "Okay, now we'll do
the principal photography next year."
Well, next year was 2020, so you know
how that went.
>> Co oh gosh,
>> co all over. The next year we did film,
but we Israel was still closed because
of COVID. So, I kind of fit in these
very few weeks. I jumped into Israel,
then it closed again because of the
Delta variant. So, we kind of had that
going. We came back in 2023, spent the
summer in Israel doing pre-production.
We were supposed to start filming on
October 9th, 2023.
So, two days before that, we know what
happened with Hamas on October 7th.
>> And that was one where I really said,
"Okay, God, what are you doing?" Because
you had me here all summer. you had us
get all the way up to filming and then
why? Um, and the answer I got back then
was he really I want you to be here. I
want you to be here with your people
while this is going on. And it it
somehow means a lot to my Israeli cast
and crew that I'm there with them during
that that I'm not running away from it,
that we're going through it together.
Um, and so, you know, we can see now God
has has his timing. You know, last year
the Wall Street Journal said, "This is a
golden age of Bible publishing." Who
would ever have thought that? You know,
Bible sales last year were up last year.
I mean, this is before Charlie Kirk and
all the things that are going on now to
sort of stir this up. Last year, Bible
sales were up 22% over the previous
year. This year already, they've they've
already sold a million more Bibles than
they had at this point last year. Now,
this is like physical Bibles from
stores. This isn't on on counting online
sales or whatever. And I I don't even
really carry a physical Bible anymore. I
do everything online. So, this is really
remarkable. And so, God had his plan
back in 2017. He knew everything that
was going to happen. And he knew that we
were going to land right at this point.
And that's all I can say. His timing is
better than ours.
>> It's amaz I mean, it's amazing. And and
to your point, I mean, one of the
numbers that has shocked me is the
people most likely to go to church right
now regularly are young people. That is
something if three years ago you had
said to me, "Yeah, it's Gen Z and
millennials that are going to go to
church the most." I would have laughed.
I would have said, "That's ridiculous."
Right. And here we are. But I think
you're so right. There's such a a thirst
for this. And you have oracles of God,
the story of the New Testament where
you're putting together how the New
Testament, you're helping people
understand, and you're explaining this.
take us through the journey that people
will experience when they go to
theaters.
>> Okay. Well, The Chosen has done a very
good thing for all of Christianity in
refamiliarizing everybody with the
stories that are in the Bible with Jesus
and who he was with his followers. And
so, that's opened up a lot of doors.
Now, we have a lot of stories about
Jesus. And our film starts a little bit
beyond that, right after the, you know,
Jesus crucifixion and resurrection. How
did those stories get written down? How
did we get those? I mean, how did we go
from apostles through all through Jesus
ministry? Jesus was saying to them, "Oh,
I'm telling you, but you still don't
understand. You still don't understand
what's going on." Right up to the cross,
they left. They still didn't understand.
So, how did we go from that to all these
men saying, "This is my life's mission
now. I have to write this down and write
it down." Well, so we go through that
period. You know, the first 20, 30 years
after Jesus, it was all by word of
mouth. People back then didn't value the
written word as much as they did. I need
to hear it from the mouth. I need to
hear one of the apostles telling these
stories. Then they tell their children
and their children. And suddenly what
happened was the apostles were dying off
and persecution was starting to come in.
King Herod was driving the Jews and the
Christians out of Judea. Uhoh. we've got
to write this stuff down because we
don't have the firsthand accounts
anymore. So, how did we get from
storytelling to writing it down to
having this entire collection that we
call the New Testament?
>> Yeah. And and that I mean I think this
is one of the big points too of debate
or or questioning because people just
don't know. And so you'll have a lot of
secularists and atheists. They'll
they'll say, well, you know, the Bible,
they'll say that the books were not
codified early on, that the book, you
know, there's all these claims about the
Bible, but you've spent time obviously
creating an amazing documentary on this.
You've looked at this. What surprised
you the most about how the New Testament
was compiled.
>> We have an amazing gift when it comes to
knowing about this era. We have an
amazing gift called the church fathers.
these Christian leaders who were one
generation or even two removed from the
apostles. Some of them were even the
direct students of the apostle John. So
they heard everything from the horse's
mouth as you would say. So the things
that surprise me are just fun little
stories. You know we know Matthew, Mark
and Luke were written about in the
AD60s. We know that the Gospel of John
was written 30 years later in the 90s.
So why did that come later? and why did
the Apostle John having the first three
read those and say, "Ah, I still feel
like I need to write another one." So,
we explore little things like that. It
kind of made me laugh when I heard The
Reason. You'll have to watch the film to
see it. But it was a little passive
aggressive almost.
>> I loved it though, like, ah, okay, they
did okay, but I need to add some things.
So,
>> I love that.
>> Yeah. But thanks thanks to the church
fathers, we get these cool little
stories.
>> Well, I love that. And and this film
comes to theaters November 2nd, 3rd, and
5th. It's a Fathom event, and it's super
exciting. I I'm so excited for Oracles
of God, the story of the New Testament.
Aaron, I appreciate your time today.
>> Thanks, Billy. I appreciate it.
>> Oracles of God hits theaters November
2nd, 3rd, and 5th. You can go to
cbnfilms.com
for tickets and more information. We'll
be right back in just a moment with more
news makers.
[Music]
Welcome back to Newsmakers on the CBN
News Channel. For our final segment,
Christian photographer Chelsea Nelson.
She is joining us alongside her
attorney, Brian Nihart, and they're
going to talk about a major religious
liberty battle that they just won. Let's
welcome them both here to Newsmakers.
So Chelsea, let's just dig right into
this. You filed a lawsuit against
Louisville Jefferson County in 2019
and tell us a little bit about what led
to that lawsuit.
>> Yeah. Well, I was a a young mom trying
to figure out a business that I could do
to have flexibility, raise a family,
have a, you know, a creative outlet. And
obviously I'm a Christian so that
impacts every aspect of my life. Not
just on Sunday morning when I'm at
church, right? Absolutely everything.
And I was concerned about if I am going
to do this, I'm going to do it in a way
that's consistent with my faith. Is that
going to get me in trouble? You know,
just trying to be wise and discerning
looking forward as I grow that's become
maybe more wellknown. Do I have anything
to worry about? And I became aware of
this ordinance in Louisville. um and was
really concerned that I might be under,
you know, $10,000 fines at any moment
for being, you know, reported if I were
just simply open about what messages I'm
willing to celebrate. You know, marriage
between a man and a woman for a lifetime
only and nothing outside of that. So,
that's really what brought me to this
whole 6y year long litigation journey.
>> You have this law, this regulation,
you're trying to operate your business
as a Christian. you're fearful about
what you say and what you do. Did you
hit a point where where you thought or
you did experience that sort of
retribution?
>> Uh, so what I the way that I approached
it is that I hadn't received a direct
threat yet, but I knew that it was
likely, especially because I'm not quiet
about my faith. I'm outspoken about it.
I celebrate it. And so, um, anyone who
knew about me and my business hopefully
would attach my faith to it. it wasn't
just going to be like a sub item to my
business. And so what I decided to do
was proactively
seek clarification, just be like, "This
is exactly what I would like to put on
my website so everyone knows where I
stand and what I believe. Can I do
that?" And ultimately, they came back
essentially and said, "No, you you can't
do that. In fact, you can't even talk to
clients like in a client meeting at
Starbucks about, oh, well, I can
celebrate this message, but not that,
and here's why. Well, and and I mean by
having it on your website, it
essentially doesn't waste your time. It
doesn't waste other people's time.
You're putting it out there. This is
what I represent. This is who I am. And
you know, you're welcome to go somewhere
else if you don't like that, right? I
mean, it actually helps everybody
instead of being in the awkward
conversation where you're now telling
somebody no once they've come to you. Uh
Brian, can you take us through help us
understand what this particular
regulation says so that we understand,
you know, just sort of like the legal
aspects around it and what concerned you
most about it?
>> Sure. Well, the fundamental premise of
Chelsea's lawsuit is that uh the
government can't force Americans to say
something they don't believe. And
Louisville passed a law uh that it
interpreted to require Chelsea to create
photographs and blogs celebrating a view
of marriage that she that contradicted
her faith. And the law had two different
features. One, it compelled her to
create speech that violated her beliefs.
But as you mentioned, it also prohibited
her from even putting on her own
website, "This is my Christian beliefs.
This is what I believe about marriage,
and I only create photographs and blogs
consistent with that belief." And
Louisville said that both of those
things uh declining to create a message
about marriage that violates her beliefs
or even explaining that belief publicly
uh would violate its law. And I'll I'll
just note this is a case similar to a
Supreme Court case that was announced in
2023 creative versus Elenus. There are
laws like Louisville's across the
country that compelled uh artists to
create artwork that violated their
religious beliefs. And in 2023, the
Supreme Court said that those laws uh
when they're used to com when they're
applied to speech violate the first
amendment and and Judge Beaton and
Chelsea's case follow that binding
precedent and reach the result he did
here.
>> Chelsea, you know, coming back to you as
we as we close here, what's your message
to other Christians who may find
themselves in similar battles? Maybe
they're afraid to fight the battle.
Maybe they feel trapped. What would you
say to them after six years of of
fighting for this?
Yeah, I would say um start with daily
faithfulness in your life, in your
family. Um standing up in a broader
context with you know news headlines or
whatever that all starts with being
faithful to the Lord and your family,
how you how you treat your spouse, how
you're being faithful in parenting your
children, you know, interacting with
your community. um if you're a high
schooler on, you know, on your
basketball team and you're feeling
pressure about being a Christian, you
know, standing up for your beliefs in a
loving way and the Lord uses all of
those experiences to prepare you for the
good works that he has for you and that
the Lord's redemptive plan is going off
without a hitch at all times and that
he's going to use everything in your
life to help you build perseverance and
character. And that honoring the Lord
even when it's difficult, even when
there is a personal cost to it, to have
an eternal mindset. Is the Lord going to
say, "Well done." When you see him face
to face, are you going to be
feeling ashamed or regretful at the end
of your life for not standing up for
your faith? I would say do that no
matter what the cultural winds are at
the time and surround yourself with
strong believers who are going to hold
you accountable to that.
>> All right, final question. Chelsea, for
you, will you continue fighting this if
there is an appeal? Let's say they
decide to continue their their battle
against you on this.
>> Absolutely.
W without a doubt. No. Um this is this
is a ride-or- die situation for me. Um I
want to honor the Lord in this area. I
want to protect free speech for
everyone. And I'm grateful that the
Lord's used this case in so many ways.
Even though it's taken a lot longer than
I ever would have anticipated, I'm
hopeful that we can take the win and
move on and turn the page.
>> Well, I want to thank you both for
coming on, breaking this down. It's an
important story and appreciate your
courage in standing up the way that you
have. Thanks for joining me.
>> Thank you so much.
>> Let's continue to pray that the First
Amendment victories we are seeing here
in America will continue. We'll be right
back in just a moment with more of the
show.
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